Eric Voegelin The People of God - Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für ...
Eric Voegelin The People of God - Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für ...
Eric Voegelin The People of God - Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für ...
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30<br />
<strong>The</strong> Saints shall inherit all things. You see that the Saints have<br />
little now in the world; now they are the poorest and meanest<br />
<strong>of</strong> all; but then when the adoption <strong>of</strong> the sons <strong>of</strong> <strong>God</strong> shall<br />
come in the fullness <strong>of</strong> it, the world shall be theirs; for the<br />
world is purchased for them by Jesus Christ. Not only heaven<br />
shall be your kingdom, but this world bodily.” To the question<br />
how these things will come about, he answers: “It is <strong>God</strong><br />
Omnipotent who shall do these things, by that power, whereby<br />
he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Mountains shall be<br />
made plain, and he shall come skipping over mountains and<br />
difficulties. Nothing shall hinder him.” As to the date <strong>of</strong> the<br />
event he calculates on the basis <strong>of</strong> Daniel 12.11 that the new<br />
Sion will begin in 1650 and reach its completion in 1695. 11<br />
A certain theological difficulty is <strong>of</strong>fered by the word<br />
“My kingdom is not <strong>of</strong> this world”. <strong>The</strong> argument <strong>of</strong><br />
overcoming is <strong>of</strong> the greatest importance in the structure <strong>of</strong><br />
this body <strong>of</strong> ideas. Thomas Collier explained in a Sermon on<br />
the Discovery <strong>of</strong> the New Creation, delivered at the armyheadquarters<br />
at Putney on Sept. 29, 1647: “It’s true we have<br />
had, and still have, exceeding low and carnal thoughts <strong>of</strong><br />
heaven, looking on it as a glorious place above the firmament,<br />
out <strong>of</strong> sight, and not to be enjoyed till after this life.” 12 <strong>The</strong><br />
argument is that the conception <strong>of</strong> an otherworldly Kingdom<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>God</strong> is a materialistic idea, while the spiritual conception<br />
demands the possibility <strong>of</strong> a world identical in structure with<br />
the present but penetrated by the Spirit <strong>of</strong> <strong>God</strong>. Another<br />
formula for this idea is contained in the Queries presented to<br />
Lord Fairfax in February 1649. <strong>The</strong> objection <strong>of</strong> the saying <strong>of</strong><br />
Christ is answered: “But he doth not say, It shall not be upon<br />
the earth, nor while the earth remains.” 13 “World” and “earth”<br />
11 Puritanism and Liberty, Being the Army Debates (1667-9) from the<br />
Clarke Manuscripts with Supplementary Documents. Selected and edited<br />
with an Introduction by A.S.P. Woodhouse, London 1938, pp. 240 ff.<br />
12 Puritanism and Liberty, p. 390.<br />
13 1.c., p. 244.